Earlier this year, traveling through Kandy (Sri Lanka), I read the story about Lipton – yes, the Lipton you might know from the tea bag in your cup.

From 187o to 1888 the clever Sir Thomas Lipton grew his parents grocery shop in Glasgow to a nationwide chain of 300 stores. This provided him with guaranteed distribution to sell tea. The big inspiration was then the advertisement slogan: “Direct from the tea gardens to the tea pot”. He bought his own tea plantation in Sri Lanka, bypassed the traditional wholesale markets and created the biggest global tea brand.

Admittedly Lipton tea is not a “golden tea” or a “first flush”, but the majority of us never even heard of different tea grades. If that includes you, following this link might help: http://www.wtea.com/about-tea_grading.aspx